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Boonie Tails

By Grace Keilbach

Last Monday Boonie Tails was coming to you live from Dulles International airport in Virginia and now we write to you from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila. Come along with us on our travel day as we share with you our Miss Earth and Philippine adventures.

Miss Earth

For the first time in CNMI history, Aria made it to the top 25 out of 78 contestants, beating out dozens of incredible nations such as the U.S. and England to secure her spot in the next round. Aria did not advance further to the top 12 but we could not be more proud of her accomplishments. Seeing her shine on the international pageant stage among so many other women was a surreal experience. You would never know that she wasn’t a highly trained pageant competitor and instead just a girl who will do whatever it takes to save the Boonies!

Aria noted that her three weeks spent in the Philippines for the pageant was a once in a lifetime experience that she will forever be grateful for however, she couldn’t be happier to be home. On behalf of Aria and Boonies Babies, we would like to thank everyone for their love and support of our Miss Earth NMI. She may not be Queen of the entire Earth but we would argue being Queen of the Boonies is a much more prestigious title anyways.

Meet the Filipino Boonies; Askals

One of the best parts of living on Saipan is getting to experience new cultures and explore this side of the world. While traveling, we of course are always on the look out for four legged creatures and much like Saipan, there was no shortage of stray dogs, referred to as Askals in Manila. However, there is a key difference with these strays compared to Boonies. Every Askal we saw seemed to be settled into their little slice of community. While we’re used to seeing Boonies alone, skinny, and scrounging for scraps, Philipine strays always accompanied people, were well-fed, and usually could be seen getting tossed leftovers or sharing a meal with passersby. While Saipan dogs end up accidentally hit, or even worse, intentionally targeted by cars, Askals walked peacefully across busy roads as drivers expertly and smoothly navigated around them as if they were yet another bike on the road. While boonies are generally shooed away, these dogs cuddled up at the feet of or even in the laps of their human counterparts whom they share the streets with. A few weeks is not nearly long enough to learn the intricacies of street dog life and the true relationships with their community but overall it appeared that these dogs are much more integrated into society and the daily way of life.

Our time exploring Manila was unfortunately cut short due to Typhoon Uwan. Although we were safe and our area was not hit hard, so many others cannot say the same.
Still recovering from Typhoon Kalmaegi which killed at least 114 people, Typhoon Uwan caused catastrophic damage after setting off floods and landslides, causing entire provinces to lose power, killing at least four people, and displacing more than 1.4 million others. One of the largest contributors to the death toll and immense damage caused from natural disasters in the Philippines is due to the ongoing struggle the people are facing fighting a corrupt government. According to the BBC, corruption had claimed 70% of public funds allotted to flood control.

There is no animal welfare without human welfare. For P3,450 or just $58.48 USD donation is enough to cover the cost of one filtration system that can provide clean drinking water for up to 100 people during disaster response. If you have the means, please join us in making a donation to the Waves For Water Organization HERE to help support those in the Philippines who have been affected by these recent natural disasters. Click HERE to learn more about Waves For Water and their work.

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Boonie of the Week: Finding a Familiar Face at the Shelter…Again!

This was not the first time I’d found this dog in this same predicament. Almost a full year ago exactly I recognized him during yet another shelter walkthrough. A dog I had groomed years prior (with pelted fur from never having been shaved in his life) had been surrendered by his owners due to their inability to keep up with his grooming needs. I remembered his sweet temperament despite hours of intense grooming and was also extremely frustrated that this dog bred and bought as a desired “designer breed” for long fur had been discarded for this same reason. I took him home that day and he spent months in our care looking for a home that wanted him not only for his “breed” but also to love and care for.

After 9 months of zero interest (why adopt a second hand doodle when you can just buy a puppy for thousands of dollars) someone asked to take him home! We sent him home with a martingale collar, leash, a comb, and strict instructions but unfortunately just an hour later received a very apologetic text that the leash had slipped from their grip as they were walking Leo in his new neighborhood and he was nowhere to be found. We all spent months looking and made many lost posts to no avail. So when 9 months had passed without a single sighting of this very identifiable dog, I was certain that Leo was sadly gone forever. I was absolutely shocked to see him, a matted, malnourished mess originally, as he was again now, but tail wagging and the martingale collar with half of our leash still dangling from it that he had gone home with.

He was as ecstatic to see me as I was him and we immediately headed home where he ran to his crate, remembering that’s where his meals were given. I still cannot believe that Leo survived 9 months on the streets and it’s even harder to believe I happened upon him in time at a shelter with over 90% euthanasia rate! I don’t know whether Leo is the luckiest or unluckiest dog but I’m glad he’s back with us and we get to help him to whatever his next adventure is.

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